


A Paladin in Shining Armor

by NoPerson



Series: Klance Week 2016 [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Captured, Injury, Klance Week 2016, M/M, day six: hero/villain, hunk is the best, i am the latest late to ever late, lance is super loyal, no way i was going for angst in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 23:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7734133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoPerson/pseuds/NoPerson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith waits for his hero to come and rescue him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Paladin in Shining Armor

Unsurprisingly, one of the first things Keith had figured out about Lance was his fierce loyalty. 

No matter the risk, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem, the Blue Paladin is always prepared to step in and save his friends. It’s hardwired into his brain, a quality that’s running through his bloodstream and can’t be repressed. Honestly, it’s something that Keith admires about Lance. It’s a quality that can chase away fear itself for the sake of the safety of his friends.

After Keith and Lance had started dating, Keith had gotten even more up-close opportunities to see this loyalty in action. Keith is planning on single-handedly flying in the middle of a Galra fleet to damage as many ships as possible? Nope! Not on Lance’s watch. He’ll be stubbornly fighting by Keith’s side despite his many protests. Keith wants to scout ahead all by himself? Uh-uh. Either Lance comes with him, or no one goes at all. 

Keith is expecting that logic to follow through, at least, that’s what he’s counting on.

In order to free some prisoners from a Galra ship, Keith and Hunk had snuck on board while the rest of team worked to distract the forces to the best of their abilities. Before they had even left the ship, Keith and Lance had gotten into a huge argument concerning Keith’s reckless desire to go on the ship, with or without Hunk. They’d left the ship angry, with both of them stubbornly holding to their respective sides and neither of them had been ready to apologize to the other just yet.

Maybe Keith should have listened to Lance. Maybe someone else should have come with them instead of their meager party of two. Maybe they wouldn’t have been overrun so quickly if Keith hadn’t gone in angry. Maybe they wouldn’t have been stuck in a cell with the prisoners they were supposed to save, their helmets confiscated along with their bayards.

Maybe a lot of things could have gone better that day, but Keith is trying not to dwell on all of the things that had gone wrong. Instead, he’s chosen to stew in the corner and stare out of the cell door. 

Thankfully, the cell they are being held in isn’t dark or musty or coated in grime and rats. It’s smooth and bare and has a decent amount of lighting in it. Still, even if the conditions aren’t absolutely terrible, the cell is crowded with at least twenty prisoners, Keith being one of the lucky ones who gets to sit next to the cell door and stare out at the corridor. Just barely peeking around the corner, he can see their helmets sitting precariously on a bench. 

His left leg, the one that now has a vicious and bloody slash down the top of the thigh, is stretched out in front of him to stabilize the wound while his right one is bent and pressed against the cell door, his knee acting as a convenient resting place for his arm. Hunk is kneeling on his left side, his hands occupied in pressing a generous prisoner’s ragged tunic against the gash in his leg. The bleeding is already starting to slow down and clot, but Keith knows that Hunk was taking extra precautions out of fear of Lance’s wrath. 

Finally, Hunk eases up on the painful pressure and wraps the injury up in the tunic. He pats Keith’s other leg and smiles brightly in that comforting way that makes Keith almost believe that everything is going to be okay.

“Done!” Hunk exclaims, clapping his hands together as if they aren’t covered in Keith’s blood. “You’ll be fine and you’ll be as good as new when we get back to the castle.”

“Thanks, Hunk.” Keith says and he means it, even if Hunk is laying it on a little thick with his attempts to reassure him that everything’s going to be okay. “All I need is a healing pod and a good meal and I’ll be fine.”

Hunk beams at him. “Well, lucky you! I can provide both of those things.”

Keith wants to add that he would also want a nice, long hug from Lance, but he thinks that would probably make Hunk feel uncomfortable so he keeps his mouth shut and smiles back even though his heart aches at the thought of Lance. He hopes that they’ll be able to apologize quickly when this is all over, because he would much rather be cuddling with Lance than arguing with him fresh out of a healing pod. 

Hunk, being the perfect example of the kind and peaceful paladin that he is, turns to the small group of prisoners huddled nearby and sits cross-legged in their circle. He thanks the green-skinned prisoner who offered up their shirt and starts conversing politely with the others. Keith doesn’t understand how he does it. Sure, Keith can hold his own when talking business and strategy but Hunk has a certain charm that makes his easy to talk to. 

Lance has a similar charm, but his used to rely more on flirting. Thankfully, that method had been put to death since he and Keith had started dating. Still, there are moments when Lance’s charms closely resemble his former flirting in a way that makes Keith clench his fists and grit his teeth.

That being said, he would take Lance’s ridiculous charms right now, flirting or not.

Keith tries his best to focus on the conversation Hunk is having, but it’s a little difficult considering his leg wound is making his head spin and is insisting on throbbing with his heartbeat. From what he’s able to pick up, the prisoners have been here for at least a couple of months. No, they hadn’t seen any prisoners from Earth and no, they hadn’t heard about Voltron. Keith feels a little bummed out for Pidge, considering the fact they haven’t really encountered any leads on their family, but Keith is sure that this won’t bring Pidge down for long. 

He turns his head away from the small group and stares back out at the hall. He hopes Lance and the others will come get them soon. Even if they had lost their communicators before informing the others that they had been taken, Keith is sure that they will be able to figure out what happened and form a plan of action accordingly. 

“Don’t worry,” He can hear Hunk assuring the prisoners. “Our team will be coming with us soon and you’ll all be coming with.”

Keith nods firmly in agreement as whispers start breaking out among the prisoners, some hopeful and excited, others doubtful. 

“Now,” Hunk twists his head around to look back at Keith, who sits up a little straighter at the attention. “If we can just find a way to signal-”

He is interrupted by a loud explosion at the end of the hallway that makes the prisoners jump and shout and causes Keith to jar his leg. A line of prisoners rushes forward to press their faces against the door. Hunk makes his way over to Keith and helps him stumble to his feet, taking his arm across his broad shoulders to keep Keith stable. 

Out in the hall, guards rush to the source of the explosion, where a cloud of dust is still obscuring the site from view. The Galra have their guns raised as they shout at the cloud of dust to reveal itself. 

“Could that be…” Hunk trails off and squints his eyes.

Keith sighs with relief and exasperation. “Of course it is.”

From out of the dust cloud, the three remaining paladins erupt. Pidge and Lance have their bayards raised high, battle cries coming from their lips as Shiro leads them with his arm held off to the side and glowing a bright purple. From this angle, Keith knows that their friends can’t see them, but he is relieved at their entrance. 

Quickly, the three of them take down the guards and start making their way to the cells with confiscated keys. Lance’s face is scrunched in determination and aside from the smudges of dirt on his face and suit, he appears to be unharmed. 

They move one cell at a time, opening the doors efficiently and guiding the prisoners in the direction of the escape pods. Every time the door opens and they don’t find their fellow paladins, Keith can see Lance’s face fall along with Keith’s heart. But he doesn’t call out, he knows that they’ll make it to him and Hunk and the other prisoners eventually, they just have to be patient.

Lance stops at the bench down the hall and picks up their helmets enthusiastically, waving them around in the air like a pair of racing flags and shouting something at Shiro that Keith can’t quite hear. Before Shiro has even finished replying, Lance is sprinting down the corridor, making his way to the final prison cell. When Lance sees Hunk and Keith through the door, he actually starts jumping in excitement in a way the makes Keith grin. The door apparently can’t open fast enough because before it’s even up all of the way, Lance has ducked down and met Keith and Hunk. The other paladins have rushed to catch up, both smiling and sighing as they start to guide the prisoners out, some of them patting Hunk and Keith on the backs or bowing their heads with gratitude as they pass by.

Lance passes back their helmets and he and Hunk slide them back onto their heads. 

“It took you long enough.” Keith jokes. Lance smiles at him so brightly he may as well be the sun.

Hunk slips out from under Keith’s arm and passes it over to Lance, jogging over to the other to join them and give Keith and Lance some time alone.

Lance gives Keith a quick once over, his cheek obviously being chewed when he spots the bloody bandage wrapped around Keith’s thigh. He sighs and meets Keith’s eyes. “You’re hurt.”

Keith rolls his eyes and leans heavily on Lance as they hobble out of the cell. “I’ll be fine. Let’s just get out of here.”

But Lance’s eyes are still dark with worry and something that may be regret. “Hey, about what I said before-”

Keith silences him with a warm kiss on the mouth. He wishes he could stay that way forever, their lips locked passionately and their eyes closed, but Keith knows they should probably get off of the ship before they get too caught up in what they’re doing. When Keith peels his eyes open, he watches as Lance does the same. He looks pleasantly surprised, but his eyes are still uneasy. “Forget about it. We can talk about it later. For now, let’s just get out of here.”

Lance seems to shake off his doubt in favor of a cheeky grin. They continue to stumble down the hall, the paladins walking way ahead of them as they heard the prisoners like sheep. “Do you want me to carry you home?”

“My hero,” Keith rolls his eyes. “I think I’ll be fine this way.”

“As you wish.” Lance says, his face bright and beautiful.

Keith lets Lance guide him away, confident that even as his vision gets a little blurry and his legs start to trip, Lance will bring him back safety.

After all, Keith always knew Lance would come for him, and he knows Lance always will.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought if you please!


End file.
